Zubaz are the jam. They were the hotness like 20 years ago, developed by weightlifters in Minnesota, rocked by the Fresh Prince, Claudia Schiffer and Dan Marino, and were even official uniforms for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. Early pairs were made by female convicts in Minnesota state prisons (can’t make this shit up), and when all was said and done they had sold over 10 Million pairs amassing $160 Million in sales! They’ve been low key since then, having gone bankrupt in ’96, only being affectionately worn by frat dudes and rednecks that scooped them up at Salvation Army. But the company resurfaced in ’07 to offer their glorious products once again, so you won’t have to sacrifice stains and holes to own a pair.

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What happens when one of the best brands in the world takes an abandoned gym on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and turns it into an exclusive, invite-only basketball facility?

You get Nike Basketball @ Masaryk Gym, opening last month and featuring a regulation sized court, state of the art training equipment, a brand new locker room, and a 24-hour members’ concierge service…available on an invite-only basis to select pros, notable NYC ballers, and the fortunate ones with a connect. If you were lucky enough to have received an invite, which you weren’t, through a password-protected website or dedicated phone line, you can make an appointment up to 2 weeks in advance to reserve the gym and have a personal training session with Nike trainers or run a game with 19 of your homies. And all you need to do is wear your Nikes (no other kicks aloud), while they provide the uniforms, balls, and anything else you’d need. They’ve also opened up the court to others in the community, like high school teams and youth organizations, and in April the Club effectively shuts down when Nike hands the court back over to the Masaryk Towers, the low-income highrises that the gym is nestled below, for its tenants to use.

“In New York, when the temperature drops, the hunger rises. Those who are on a mission to elevate their game will tell you their journey begins right now. The only way to dominate the summer is to grind through the winter. Because here, the summer may be when legends are born – but now is when they’re built.” #MakeItCount

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A few shots from Rachel Hulin’s Flying Series, just one of her many awesome series. Check her shit out. Awesome, awesome stuff. I had to include pictures from this one, because well, it involves flying babies. But my personal favorite would be On The Lake…basically where I want my future to some how take me.

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I just decided something and I had to write it down. It had to be on a public forum like the JAM because it only solidifies and validates it…if I wrote this on a post-it note or stored it into my cell phone, the idea likely wouldn’t see the light of day again. If I didn’t write this down my unfaithful memory would only serve as an excuse to never turn the idea into a reality, losing it as I have lost so many other amazing ideas to the past. By writing this down and by not following up, I would have reason to feel regret and consequently I should have much more reason to actually follow up. And so I write.

My idea is that I will spend every Saturday from here into the unforeseeable future, except those Saturdays that fall on a recognized holiday or those that are part of a larger chain of days involving a vacation, or simply those where I need a break…I will spend every Saturday learning something new. It is as simple as it sounds. But I will not allow it to be simple, and I won’t devote my time to getting lost on Wikipedia or just asking an old person lots of questions. I am going to spend my Saturdays DOING something new, learning a new trade or skill, experiencing tasks that millions of people around the world call jobs, or hobbies that people are passionate about. I am going to become an apprentice in as many different arenas that I can possibly imagine. I am going to offer my labor for free in return for free lessons, working with masters of trades and hopefully acquiring a small part of their knowledge. I am going to create a symbiotic relationship with as many people that I can, providing my service for a share of their wisdom.

I have been working at a fine dining restaurant for the past few months, every Saturday in this fashion, and I just realized this to be a good starting block. I have done lots of food prep and began to understand the intricacies of the restaurant industry. I am going to continue doing this for as long as I see fit, and then I will move on. Maybe I will work with crab fishermen or auto mechanics at some point. Maybe I will start working at a gallery or baseball stadium. I don’t know what will come next, but I also know what will not. I will not become an apprentice to a prostitute. I will not work with a plumber. I will also never work behind a meter maid. This is a very loose idea right now and despite these limitations I will just take each week as it comes. But as each one does, I hope to learn a bit about the world. What better way to do so than through the eyes of the everyday blue collar working man? Since I waited tables for a few months I’ve been a firm believer that everyone should do the same at least once in their life. I have no statistics to cite here but I think it’s safe to assume that 99.99% (fake statistic!) of Americans will eat out at a restaurant at some point, and they will interact with a waiter. So we should all know what it’s like to be a waiter. It’s the same reason I want to visit India and China. 2 out of every 7 people in this world are Indian or Chinese…that’s nearly 30% (real statistic!). If 30% of the people in this world are experiencing Indian or Chinese culture, then I think everyone should experience the same. And so I want to experience the common, the myriad, the likely boring jobs that many experience every day. Kind of like Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs, hold the Dirty.

This post is my proclemation, for myself and for its 17 readers to bear witness to, that I will follow up on this. I mean ultimately I might not…I might leave Omaha some day for a city where I have friends and be able to spend time on a Saturday with people I enjoy. If that happens, then my apprenticeships won’t. But hell, this is a pretty good idea in my eyes, a good way to learn about people and have new experiences, and I’m hoping I follow through. Maybe I’ll write a book about it one day. Maybe I’ll become a hero. Maybe I’ll win a Nobel Prize and get optioned for a movie. But I definitely won’t get herpes, because I won’t apprentice as a prostitute. The only thing holding me back here is my own ambition, and the fact that lots of jobs just aren’t done on Saturdays…but the ambition thing, that’s something to keep in mind.

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I realize this stuff may border on that whole “I’ve seen three year olds do this shit before” kind of thing…but seriously, if you know a three year old who rolls like this, put me in touch so I can get work like this on the cheap.